Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old
The prompt
“If you could ask a scientist one question about how the universe works, what would it be?”
What to listen for
If they come up with a genuine question and want to talk it through, they're building a private world of curiosity and ideas, and they need you to be genuinely curious back rather than rushing to give the textbook answer.
If they ask something silly or joke around, that's often a way of testing whether it's safe to be curious out loud without being judged, play along before going deeper.
If they say "I don't know," that's fine, offer a wondering of your own first, like what's outside the universe, and see if it sparks something.
What this tells you
This shows you the size and shape of the inner world they're building when no one's watching.